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PAUL RYAN GOES NATIONAL – He won’t talk about being Mitt Romney’s wingman on the GOP ticket, but the House budget chairman has the pieces in place if he ever gets the call. POLITICO’s Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan write: “[A]s his public profile has soared, Ryan has quietly built a national political operation that’s flush with cash and designed to defend himself and his party against attacks. Ryan spent more than $1.6 million in direct mail since the beginning of 2011 spreading his fiscally conservative budget message across the country. He has $5 million in cash in his reelection campaign coffers — a colossal sum for a House member. The donations come from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to campaign finance records, rare national reach for a House member. Sources close to Ryan say this national apparatus has been built to defend him and the Republican Party against attacks on his sweeping, controversial plan to overhaul the federal budget. But it certainly doesn’t hurt to have this kind of impressive operation in the works if Ryan gets tapped as vice president — or if he wants to make a national run himself in the future.

-- “Ryan’s political machine — and his goal of defending a budget that has been shredded by Democrats and the Obama White House — shows the pluses and minuses in Mitt Romney selecting Ryan as a running mate. The upside: Ryan is universally liked and respected within his party, is a stalwart conservative, can raise serious money and is considered a policy visionary among GOP opinion makers. Inside the House Republican Conference, Ryan has something of a cult following. A senior Republican aide said “everybody wants Paul Ryan on stage with them” at fundraising events in their districts. The downside: His time in the House leaves plenty of fertile ground for attack, and his aggressive overhaul of Medicare and proposed tax cuts for the wealthy make him an easy target for opponents. His fingerprints are literally on thousands of pages of budget documents over the past few years. …

RUBIO’S DREAM, AND ROMNEY’S -- Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s introduction of a DREAM Act alternative complicates his chances of becoming vice president and Mitt Romney’s hopes of becoming commander-in-chief, Manu Raju writes in POLITICO: “It’s a risky move for a potential vice presidential candidate, and it puts presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney in a pickle as he may have to decide whether to back an immigration plan rolled out by one of the party’s rising Hispanic stars, or stick to the strident anti-illegal immigrant positions he staked out during the Republican primary. … [Rubio] invited reporters to his office on Thursday to talk about his own version of the Democratic DREAM Act, which would allow some children of illegal immigrants to obtain legal status in the United States. Rubio’s version does not have a citizenship option, as Democrats propose, but it would open the door for children of illegal immigrants who have completed high school to be awarded ‘non-immigrant visas’ before obtaining a more permanent status.” Romney’s campaign said they would study the proposal before taking a stance on it.

--Rubio’s plan is failing to please the right, but at least one Democrat is backing away from his party’s claim Rubio’s bill would create an “underclass.” “‘I’m glad that he’s interested in seeing if we can work to a solution,’ [Senate Majority Leader Harry] Reid told POLITICO. ‘But I believe there has to be a pathway to citizenship. He has not come to that yet [but] I hope he does.’” http://politi.co/JptRJN

RUBIO’S FREUDIAN SLIP – Rubio’s repeatedly denied he will be the vice presidential nominee. But at a National Journal breakfast Thursday, all the vice presidential questions finally tripped him up: "If in four to five years, if I do a good job as vice president—I'm sorry, as senator—I'll have the chance to do all sorts of things," he said. Video here:http://bit.ly/HTm0RR

MANCHIN FOR ROMNEY? – Dan Friedman writes for the National Journal: “Sen.Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who has done more than any other Democrat up for reelection this year to distance himself from President Obama, said he does not know if he will vote for Obama or presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney in November. ‘I’ll look at the options,’ Manchin said this week. The last three years ‘have made it pretty rough’ for his state, he said. That stance is at odds with almost every other Democrat who is up for reelection this year or is from a state that Romney is likely to win. And it’s an indication of the unique effort Manchin has made to establish his independence from Obama and other Democrats. The senator has regularly used floor speeches and closely watched votes to, as he puts it, “respectfully” highlight differences with Obama, especially on environmental issues. He said Obama has never called him or sought a one-on-one conversation.” http://bit.ly/HYOONj

CAROLINA BLUES -- In an A1 piece on how redistricting has harmed the Democrats’ chances of retaking the House, the New York Times’ Jennifer Steinhauer zeroes in on North Carolina: “[Mike] McIntyre and [Larry] Kissell are both well known in their districts, even the newer parts, in a state where voters are sometimes known to vote Republican for president and Democratic for the House. Mr. Obama’s re-election efforts will be in full force here — the Democratic National Convention will be in Charlotte — and all Democrats will benefit from his team’s get-out-the-vote efforts among base voters in a state he carried in 2008. ‘I am a firm believer and still have confidence in North Carolina voters,’ said Hayden Rogers, the longtime chief of staff to Mr. Shuler who, after failing to persuade his boss to run again, decided to go for the seat himself. ‘I think they are looking for candidates who are rational, and they are less inclined to vote by political affiliation.’” http://nyti.ms/Jcm1Us

SENATORS ROLL OUT THEIR OWN KONY 2012 VIDEO – Sunlen Miller writes for ABC News: “On the eve of the Kony 2012 national ‘day of action,’ senators want you to know they haven’t forgotten about the campaign to find Uganda’s Joseph Kony. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., today introduced legislation to expand the existing Department of State Rewards Program for Kony. … The Kerry legislation would expand existing authority to allow the State Department to publicize and pay rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction of individuals engaged in transnational organized crime, or foreign nationals wanted by any international criminal tribunal for war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide. … A group of senators, hoping to whip up a little Internet frenzy like the original Kony 12 campaign video did, came out with their own video today. The seven-minute video focuses on the Senate’s efforts to support the removal of Joseph Kony and his top lieutenants in the Lord’s Resistance Army from the battlefield in central Africa and is aimed at the young Americans who have become part of the Kony 2012 movement in the last month.” http://abcn.ws/ID5R41The Senate video is here:http://youtu.be/amckcO7kUjU

HOUSES PASSES TAX CUT –Seung Min Kim and I write for POLITICO: “With a 235-173 vote Thursday, the House passed a 20 percent tax cut aimed at small businesses, despite a White House veto threat and protests from Democrats that the tax break would disproportionately help the rich and fatten the nation’s deficit. …Thursday’s vote and the Democratic-led Senate’s failure to pass the so-called “Buffett Rule” earlier this week, served more as election-year posturing on Capitol Hill by each party on the matter of taxes – strengthening their respective platforms to help set up clear contrasts for voters this November. …Top Senate Democrats blasted the Cantor bill, arguing that it’s inferior to a rival Democratic small business bill since it doesn’t require businesses to hire new employees before getting the tax break. … The Democratic plan, outlined in the Obama administration’s year-old “Startup America” initiative, would provide $26 billion in tax incentives to small businesses that hire new workers and expand their companies.” http://politi.co/HWFBoL

THE ROGERS REPORT: McCONNELL, SENATE GOP SIDE WITH W.H. ON APPROPS BILLS -- “With the blessing of top Republican leaders, the Senate Appropriations Committee gave quick approval Thursday to spending allocations for the coming year—consistent with the August debt deal but also significantly higher than the levels set by the House GOP for domestic programs,” David Rogers writes in the hometown paper. “Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), also a veteran of the GOP leadership, joined in support as members of the committee. Two freshman Republicans, Sens. Jerry Moran of Kansas and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, dissented, but the 27-2 bipartisan roll call was a boost for Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) as he tries to make some headway before the November elections.” http://politi.co/HVqtFv

ISSA AND GRAY: D.C.’S POLITICAL ODD COUPLE – Tim Craig writes for The Washington Post: “Mayor Vincent C. Gray wasn’t sure any of the members of Congress he invited to his suite at the Verizon Center for a hockey game would show up. He had reached out to members who he thought needed to know more about the city as well as Rep. Darrell Issa, the California Republican who heads the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which has jurisdiction over the District. To Gray’s surprise, Issa walked in. Pleasantries were exchanged, and as guests nibbled on peanuts and fajitas, Gray and Issa segregated themselves to a corner for the first half of the Washington Capitals-Pittsburgh Penguins December matchup. Laughter and back-slapping about the state of the city and their mutual affection for baseball dominated their conversation, and astonished their staffs. …

-- “The moment underscores the developing bond between Gray and Issa. Despite their vast political differences, the relationship is helping to bolster the city’s agenda before Congress, an unexpected turn of events for District leaders who for decades have feared the heavy hand of Capitol Hill Republicans.

Gray and Issa have adopted a nonconfrontational posture that also extends to the mayor’s budding friendship with Issa lieutenant Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.). The kinship has led to talks about relaxing federal restrictions on building heights in the District and ways to ease congressional control over the city’s budget. On the divisive issue of abortion, Issa is trying to renegotiate GOP plans to tie funding to budget autonomy for the District.” http://wapo.st/I1TwH2

RIVERA NOT UNSCATHED -- Florida Republican Rep. David Rivera has been cleared of state charges, but the Associated Press’ Laura Wides-Munoz writes “the 16-page memo [state prosecutors] issued outlining allegations of questionable financial practices will make his re-election campaign more difficult. … [T]he memo released by Miami Dade State Attorney Katherine Rundle describes questionable activity by Rivera, including his efforts to disguise a $1 million contract for work he provided for a company that ran a dog track and later casinos. It also said he used campaign money to reimburse himself for travel that had already been paid for by the state.” http://bit.ly/IbatA6

SOLEDAD O’BRIEN CALLS OUT WEST -- It turns out Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) isn’t ready to back up his allegation that the members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus are Communists. In an appearance yesterday on MSNBC, Soledad O’Brien asked West to start naming names. “Oh, we don’t have to do that,” West said. “Oh, we do,” O’Brien responded. “You can look at the names of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and then you’ve got the names,” West said, in an attempt to end the line of questioning. O’Brien then began to list off members of the caucus -- “So Keith Ellison is a communist? Raul Grijalva is a communist? Tammy Baldwin is a communist? Judy Chu is a communist?” West wouldn’t actually label any of his House colleagues a communist. Here’s the exchange, originally spotted by the Washington Post’s Erik Wemple: http://wapo.st/Jn2xvL

W.H. MOVE PUTS SVINICKI NOM IN REID’S COURT – Darren Goode and I write for the hometown paper: “The White House’s quick concession on the renomination of NRC member Kristine Svinicki shifted control over her fate to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who declined to say Thursday whether he will allow her to come up for a vote in the full Senate. ‘You know I’m not a big fan of hers,’ said the Nevada Democrat, whose office has accused Svinicki of lying to Congress about her work on the Yucca Mountain nuclear repository. ‘But I’m not, at this stage, I’m not drawing a line in the sand. We’ll see what happens.’ GOP senators continued to accuse Democrats of holding up a new term for Svinicki, even though the White House had tried to short-circuit the controversy by letting it be known earlier Thursday that President Barack Obama plans to renominate her. Svinicki, a Republican nuclear engineer, has been on the commission since March 2008.

-- “Republicans tied the issue directly to Reid, who is both a critic of Svinicki’s and a longtime supporter of NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko. (Jaczko once served as appropriations director and a science policy adviser for Reid.) Svinicki and the NRC’s other three commissioners last year accused Jaczko of bullying staff — particularly women — and overstepping his authority amid the Japanese nuclear crisis. … McConnell said Republicans were ‘pleased that the White House has acted,’ but he warned that ‘no action in the Senate is not an option.’” http://politi.co/HWk1lq

WALSH’S CHILD SUPPORT SPAT ENDS -- Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) now has a stamp of approval from his ex-wife certifying that he’s not a “deadbeat dad.” ”Tea Party favorite Rep. Joe Walsh and his ex-wife Laura Walsh have reached a settlement on her claim that he owed her $117,000 in back child support from years of paying nothing,” The Chicago Sun-Times’ Abdon M. Pallasch writes. http://bit.ly/JOvNs2

** A message from the Air Line Pilots Association, the Allied Pilots Association and Delta: The U.S. Export-Import Bank is putting thousands of U.S. airline jobs at risk. Reforms will make the Bank more accountable to taxpayers, support U.S. airline workers and level the playing field. It’s all about jobs! **

GOOD FRIDAY MORNING and welcome to The Huddle, your play-by-play preview of the day’s congressional news. Please send tips, suggestions, comments, complaints, corrections to swong@politico.com. If you don't already, please follow me on Twitter @scottwongDC. Jake is @jakesherman, Jon is @jonallendc and Robillard is @PoliticoKevin.

My new followers include, but are not limited to @edatpost and @emilycadei.

TODAY IN CONGRESS – Both the House and Senate are out today and back Monday.

POSTAL VOTE COMING NEXT WEEK -- “The Senate is on track to finish work on a postal reform bill next week after Senate leaders reached an agreement to consider 39 amendments to the measure, including a proposal to pass the House version,” Roll Call’s Humberto Sanchez reports. Two of the amendments are designed to protect rural offices: “Other amendments to be considered include a proposal from Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) to establish a two-year moratorium on closing rural post offices. … The Senate will also consider an amendment from Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), who is fighting to keep a mail-processing center open in Easton, Md. Her amendment would require a governor’s certification to close a postal facility.” http://bit.ly/HMVdHK

MURDOCH WIFE BACKS GILLIBRAND -- Rupert Murdoch’s wife, Wendi, donated $2,500 to New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s re-election campaign. The Murdoch-owned New York Post regularly attacks Gillibrand. Capital New York’s Reid Pillifant writes: “It's not unprecedented for Murdoch to contribute to Democrats. She gave $2,000 to Chuck Schumer in 2003, and another $2,000 to the Democratic National Committee in 2009 … The single contribution from Rupert Murdoch's wife doesn't necessarily signal anything about the relationship between the senator and News Corp. But, as Gillibrand's predecessor knows, odder things have happened,” a reference to the detente reached between then-Sen. Hillary Clinton and Murdoch. http://bit.ly/I2busV

BIRTHER WATCH: KISSELL’S OPPONENT -- Roll Call’s Joshua Miller reports Richard Hudson, formerly the chief of staff to Texas Rep. Mike Conaway and now a candidate running against Rep. Larry Kissell (D-N.C.), engaged in some birtherism Tuesday. “There’s no question President Obama is hiding something on his citizenship,” Hudson said at the event, according to a video obtained by Miller. “And if you elect me to Congress to represent you, I’ll introduce legislation that requires any candidate for president or vice president to be certified by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court as being a citizen.” Hudson told Miller he stood by his remarks, but added it wasn’t a “pressing issue for me.” http://bit.ly/JjAnip Here’s video of Hudson’s remarks: http://youtu.be/6jwSzaM9EEY

TROUBLE FOR TIERNEY? -- “For the second straight quarter, Republican challenger Richard Tisei raised more money than Democratic incumbent John Tierney in the race for the 6th Congressional District,” Jesse Roman writes for The Salem News. “... Tierney still has nearly a 2-1 advantage in campaign finances, thanks to a head start and money left over from previous campaigns. Tierney now has $795,000; Tisei has about $454,000.” http://bit.ly/JEJoSH

--And in another comparison that won’t reflect well on Tierney, the Associated Press’ Steve LeBlanc focuses on his reliance on PACs: “Democrat John Tierney of Salem has raised more than $383,000 from PACs in the current election cycle -- or about 42 percent of his total contributions of nearly $904,000. Tierney's Republican challenger, Richard Tisei, has collected just 5 percent of his contributions from PACs.” http://bo.st/JkXHwo

ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL OFFICE SUED FOR HARASSMENT – Emma Dumain has the story for Roll Call: “An Architect of the Capitol employee is suing her agency for allegedly tolerating several years of sexual harassment. April Davis on Monday filed a lawsuit with the civil division of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She is seeking $300,000 in ‘compensatory damages for extreme embarrassment, humiliation and mental anguish,’ which she says she endured for nearly eight years at the hands of her supervisor, Sterling Thomas. … Earlier this year, the office closed the case, unresolved. In the meantime, other officials within the AOC did little, Davis says, to help her, and they retaliated against her for her efforts to bring the issue to light. Davis said that Thomas is no longer employed with the AOC: He was given a choice to either be fired or to resign, and he chose the latter. … Eva Malecki, spokeswoman for the AOC, said the agency ‘does not comment on personnel matters.’” http://bit.ly/HYSmiF

EMILY’S LIST BACKS FIVE MORE -- Roll Call’s Abby Livingston reports EMILY’s List is backing five more candidates: “Attorney Shelley Adler, running in New Jersey’s 3rd district against Rep. Jon Runyan; Attorney Kathy Boockvar, running in Pennsylvania’s 8th district against Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick; State Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, running in California’s open 26th district; Former Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, running in New Hampshire’s 1st district for the nomination to challenge Rep. Frank Guinta; Former state Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, running in Arizona’s new 9th district.” All five candidates are running in swing or GOP-leaning districts. http://bit.ly/HWYLfa

WEBB WANTS MYNAMAR TRADE OPENED -- The Associated Press’ Matthew Pennington reports: “The United States should consider opening up trade relations with Myanmar to reward the Asian country for its democratic reforms, an influential senator said Thursday. Democratic Sen. Jim Webb told The Associated Press that it is important to support President Thein Sein’s ‘bold leap’ in relaxing decades of authoritarian rule. … Webb, who chairs a Senate panel overseeing U.S. policy on East Asia and the Pacific, said he is calling a hearing next week with Obama administration officials discuss the practicalities of relaxing the myriad and overlapping sanctions.” http://bit.ly/IDb4J8

SHAYS, McMAHON HAVE QUIET DEBATE -- “ Republican U.S. Senate contenders Christopher Shays and Linda McMahon have been sniping at each other for months through press releases and proxies, but at their first face-to-face debate Thursday night their acrimony was muted,” Daniela Altimari writes for the Hartford Courant. Shays emphasized his experience and electability, while McMahon focused on her business experience. http://cour.at/HXhvcr

THURSDAY’STRIVIA WINNER – Wilfred Codrington was first to correctly answer that Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) attended both undergraduate and law school with former Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis. Codrington writes: “Levin was ’56 at Swarthmore and ’59 at Harvard Law, while Dukakis was ’55 at Swarthmore and ’60 at Harvard Law.

TODAY’S TRIVIA – Jeff Nelligan has today’s question: What doJulia Louise Dreyfus, the star of HBO’s new comedy “Veep,” and International Monetary Fund chief Christine Legard have in common? First to correctly answer gets a mention in the next Huddle. Email me at swong@politico.com.

THE NATS’ LINE – The Nationals allowed five runs in the first inning, a deficit too big to overcome as they fell 11-4 to the Houston Astros Thursday night. The open a three-game series at home tonight against the Miami Marlins.

WEATHER -- Foggy this morning, giving way to scattered clouds. Highs will be in the mid-70s, according to ABC 7’s Brian van de Graaf.

A message from the Air Line Pilots Association, the Allied Pilots Association and Delta Air Lines: The U.S. Export-Import Bank is putting thousands of U.S. airline jobs at risk by subsidizing foreign carriers that compete directly with U.S. airlines. That’s why Delta has joined with the largest pilots’ unions to call for reform of the Bank to return it to its original mission -- helping small- and medium-sized businesses compete in the global marketplace -- rather than working primarily for the benefit of a single major corporation. Needed reforms would end the Bank’s culture of secrecy and make it more transparent and accountable to taxpayers; require it to analyze the impact its decisions have on U.S. airline jobs; and leverage diplomatic resources toward negotiating the end of market-distorting practices when it comes to the sale of widebody international aircraft to foreign carriers. It’s all about jobs.